After the coffee. Before figuring out what to do with a long weekend. The Skinny: One thing I'll be doing this weekend is taking my cat in for his semi-annal crew cut. His haircut costs more than mine but it also looks better. Friday's headlines include the box-office preview for the holiday weekend and Robin Williams may return to television. Daily Dose: For everyone who wants to get HBO without having to pay for cable, now you have a chance. There's only one problem.

The horror film "The Possession" is set to claim the No. 1 spot over the Labor Day weekend, though the most frightening thing at the box office may be poor overall ticket sales. The Sam Raimi-produced scary movie is expected to take in a decent $15 million over the four-day holiday, according to individuals who have seen pre-release audience surveys. "Lawless," a crime drama starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, will have to vie for the runner-up position against "2016: Obama's America," as each is likely to gross around $12 million during the long weekend.

The 25th time is the charm for Chris Volstad, who had gone 24 starts without a win before Sunday's 5-0 rain-shortened Chicago Cubs victory over the Colorado Rockies. Volstad's winless streak dated back to July 17 of last year, when he was a member of the then-Florida Marlins. He was 0-14 with an earned-run average of 5.27 during that stretch. His streak will end four starts short of the major league record of 28 consecutive winless starts. Jo-Jo Reyes tied the record last May and now shares it with Matt Keough and Cliff Curtis.

Apprentice jockey Eswan Flores has been removed from his mounts indefinitely under orders of the California Horse Racing Board, spokesman Mike Marten said Sunday. Flores was taken off his mounts on Saturday at Del Mar and was scheduled to ride in six of 11 races on Sunday. Marten said "no comment" as to the reason for the CHRB decision. Flores' agent, Joe Griffin, said Sunday Fores had "a couple of personal problems" he's working out. "He thinks everything is going to be fine," Griffin said.

"This weekend is going to make a colonoscopy look like a treasure hunt,” says the reluctant host of “The Long Weekend” at Theatre 40. However comically overstated, it's not far off the mark. Training his facility with one-liners and a crowd-pleasing formula toward character truth and narrative logic, playwright Norm Foster scores a bull's-eye with this tickling romp about mismatched spouses. Meet straight-arrow Max (John Mullen, droll and proficient), the aforementioned host, an upscale lawyer with a new country house, which he and Wynn (Kathryn Larsen, adept and appealing)

Some "Men in Black" took down both aliens and superheroes at the box office this weekend, as the third installment in the sci-fi comedy series knocked"The Avengers"out of the No. 1 position after four weeks. "Men in Black 3," starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, grossed a respectable $70 million domestically over the four-day holiday, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures. Overseas, where the 3-D movie debuted in every major foreign country, the movie collected a solid $133.2 million, bringing the film's worldwide total to $203.2 million.

May 28, 2012 | By Amy Kaufman, This post has been updated. See the note below for details.

Though it's been a decade since the "Men in Black" were last on the big screen, Memorial Day box-office receipts proved the franchise is still relevant to moviegoers. The third installment in the sci-fi comedy series starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones grossed a respectable $70 million domestically over the four-day holiday, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures. Overseas, where the 3-D movie debuted in every major foreign country, the movie collected a solid $132 million, bringing the film's worldwide total to $202 million.

Among those working this Thanksgiving holiday weekend will be some hardy real estate agents. The struggling economy and uncertainty about jobs have changed the home selling scene, shifting more house hunting to hours and days off. The long weekend is a time when buyers are likely to have free time — an opportunity that agents feel is too good to pass up. "I'm showing houses at 8 a.m and 6:30 in the evening," said Shelly Palmer, an 11-year...

"The Help" didn't have to work hard to maintain its box office dominance over Labor Day, effortlessly claiming the No. 1 spot for the third weekend in a row. The adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel of pre-civil rights Mississippi has been cleaning up at the multiplex ever since its premiere almost four weeks ago, when it opened behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes. " In an unlikely feat, solid word-of-mouth has since propelled the film to the top spot at the box office every weekend since.

As Americans take advantage of the final days of summer — throwing their last barbecues and beach parties — Labor Day weekend is typically one of the slowest moviegoing periods of the year. Over the holiday weekend in 2010, for example, the highest-grossing film was George Clooney's "The American," which brought in a soft $16.7 million over four days. This year should see similar results, with three new movies poised to collect only a modest number of ticket sales. "Apollo 18," a science-fiction picture shot in documentary style, will probably have the best debut of the new releases.